Christine Elliott, the wife and political partner of former finance minister Jim Flaherty, paid tribute to her late husband Wednesday in perhaps the perfect fashion.

At a state funeral in Toronto's St. James Cathedral, where mourners from all political stripes wore green scarves in celebration of Flaherty's Irish heritage, Elliott delivered a touching eulogy explaining what her husband meant to her family.

Elliott, a member of the Ontario legislature, called Flaherty the most intelligent man she had ever met.

"His clarity of thought was unparalleled. He applied those qualities to everything he did from the practice of law to his work at the Ontario legislature and finally to his tenure as minister of finance," she said.

She also briefly addressed her husband's health issues.

"He was a proud Canadian who loved our great country and even when his life became more difficult in the last year or so, he persevered until he was certain he would leave things in order for his successor," she said.

But in perhaps the most emotional moment, with her triplet sons behind her, Elliott closed her speech with a beautiful piece of writing from Henry Scott Holland, titled "Death Is Nothing At All."